Haywire
by p-inkjeans
Summary: Elliot realizes he may have blown his chance with Olivia by waiting too long.
1. One

**Disclaimer**: Yeah, I wish.  
**Author's Notes**: This has been posted in other places before, but it may be new to some of you. Comments & criticism are more than appreciated.

- - -

"Hey," Olivia says, setting down her phone when her partner walks into the squad room. "I was just about to call you. I thought you already left."

Elliot shakes his head, taking off his coat. "I had a couple errands to run, but I figured I'd come back and take care of some paperwork. What'd you need?"

"We're going to O'Malley's and I wanted to see if you'd come along." She sees his hesitation and quickly adds, "It's wing night. Come on, El. I'll even buy you a beer."

"Who's 'we'?" he asks, looking down at his desk and pretending to move some papers around while he waits for her answer.

"Me and Ethan," she says. "I was going to call Casey, too." She waits for his answer, knowing that he's certainly not Ethan's biggest fan. But whether Elliot likes it or not, things have become serious between them and she wants her best friend to at least be able to be in the same room as her boyfriend. She knows that if she ever said those words out loud, he'd make an effort, but she's never been one to be that open, even with Elliot. He always just knows. "Please come?"

He looks up at her after a moment and watches her face. She rarely asks him for anything, let alone something that is so obviously a personal favor. He wants to say no, to tell her that he can't stand Ethan and his I'm-better-than-you attitude and that he'd rather stay here and do paperwork for the rest of his life than spend a couple of hours with him in a crowded bar. _But..._

"Okay," he finally says, rubbing his hand over his face. "I don't know how long I'll stay, though. I promised Dickie we'd play basketball tomorrow morning, so I don't want to be out too late."

"Good," she says, smiling. "You want to call Casey? I need to go upstairs and change."

He nods, picking up his phone and dialing Casey's cell phone number as he watches his partner walk up the stairs to the crib. He's distracted and Casey has to say his name three times before he finally responds.

He wishes he could just tell her.

- - -

Ethan Kelly is everything any woman would ever want in a boyfriend. Elliot knows this. He's handsome in that not-so-threatening type of way, so that he's attractive, but not so attractive that Olivia has to worry that women will be falling all over him everywhere they go. He's a lawyer, so he makes a decent living, and he's in corporate law and does enough pro-bono work on the side that Olivia forgets that she generally dislikes lawyers. He's funny and smart and nice and he calls when he says he's going to. He's disappointed enough when Olivia cancels dates for work that she feels wanted, but he never makes her feel guilty about it. And as much as he hates to think about it, he overheard Olivia telling Casey that he's probably the best she's ever had.

Needless to say, Elliot has the frequent urge to punch him when he sees him.

"Hey Elliot. It's good to see you," Ethan says, so sincere that Elliot finds himself wanting to roll his eyes. He simply nods in response, sliding into the booth next to Casey.

"Be nice," Casey whispers, leaning close to him. He raises an eyebrow in her direction as if to say, _I didn't punch him, did I? What more do you want?_

"How was work?" Ethan asks, kissing Olivia on the cheek.

"It was pretty slow today," she tells him, reaching for his beer and taking a sip. "How'd your big meeting go?"

Elliot tunes them both out as Ethan fills her in on some big merger his firm just completed. He turns to Casey and leans close, whispering so no one else can hear her. "Why the hell did you set them up? Did you really have to do that?"

Casey raises an eyebrow at him, then turns to Olivia and Ethan. "Elliot and I are going to go up to the bar and get something to eat. What do you want us to order for you?"

"Medium wings and some fries," Ethan says, then quickly adds, "and a burger because otherwise Liv will just eat the entire order of wings by herself."

Olivia hits him playfully in the chest, laughing. "It's not my fault you eat slow."

"Anything else?" Casey asks, noticing the look of disgust on Elliot's face. They both shake their heads and Elliot, relieved, heads off towards the bar with Casey following close behind. She grabs his arm and stops him, waiting until he faces her before asking, "What the hell is with you?"

"Nothing," Elliot says, shrugging, then finally says, "Nobody is that perfect, and Olivia does not ever act like that. I don't know who she is and what she's done with my partner, but that's not her."

"She's happy, Elliot," Casey says, looking more than a little pissed off. "You're one of my closest friends, but right now you're being an asshole. Ethan's a good guy and she's finally found somebody who understands her job and doesn't run away when he finds out all of her relationship issues. I know you're going through a shitty time right now and you have been for a while, but don't ruin this for Olivia by being a jackass. She's allowed to be happy, even if you aren't."

"I want her to be happy. I just don't think he's the right guy for her," Elliot says defensively. He looks back over at the booth where Olivia is laughing at something Ethan has said. "I don't know, Case. I've seen Olivia happy before and she didn't act like this. I just think-"

"Elliot, you haven't seen her happy. You may have thought you did, but you didn't. She's been alone and battling her demons for as long as you've known her and she's finally starting to let go and actually trust someone."

"She trusts me," Elliot insists, thinking of all the times Olivia has told him things she hasn't told anyone else and put her life in his hands.

"It's not the same. She's not in love with you," Casey says, and he can tell by the look on her face that she knows it isn't exactly the truth. He looks back over the table again and suddenly Casey grabs his arm. "I knew it! You don't hate him, you're jealous of him!" He reddens slightly and she shakes her head. "If you have feelings for her, you need to tell her. Soon. Things are getting serious between them and she needs to know about this. You owe it to both of you to tell her the truth."

He looks down at the floor, then back up at Casey, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. "What if she doesn't feel the same way?"

"That's a chance you need to take," she says firmly, looking him right in the eye. "But for what it's worth, I think she does."

- - -

Casey drains the rest of her beer, then sets it down on the table. "Liv, do you know where the bathrooms are in here?"

"Yeah. Actually, I'll go with you," she says, getting up. "Another beer or two and I won't be able to make it across the bar, so I better go now while I can still walk," she jokes.

"Could you get me another Sam Adams while you're up?" Ethan asks, looking up at her.

"Sure. You need anything, El?" Olivia asks.

"No thanks. I'm all set," he says, not looking at her. She stands there for a moment, watching him, then turns to walk toward the bathrooms with Casey. He wonders what she's thinking, or what Casey will tell her now that they're alone. Aren't women on TV shows always swapping secrets on their group trips to the bathroom?

_Hey, Liv. Guess what Elliot just told me..._

"Elliot?" Ethan's voice finally cuts through his thoughts, and he can tell by the way he says his name that he's said it more than once.

"Sorry," Elliot says, looking up at him. "It's been a long day."

"I know what you mean," Ethan says with a smile.

_No you don't, asshole. I spent all day chasing after rapists and pedophiles while you sat in your corner office talking about mergers and 401Ks. Don't try acting like we're in the same boat here._

"I bet," Elliot says, and Ethan doesn't pick up on his sarcasm.

"I, uh...I have a question for you. Well, it's more... I guess I just need to talk to you about something," Ethan says, suddenly looking nervous. "I figure that while Olivia and Casey are gone is the best time to do this, since I never see you alone."

"Yeah?" Elliot says, taking a sip of his beer and waiting impatiently.

He should have taken off while he still could. There's no telling how long Casey and Olivia might spend talking about what he had said earlier.

"I know I'm not your favorite person," he says, looking Elliot right in the eye. "But I love Olivia and I'm planning to ask her to marry me. It'd be great if you'd support her decision if she says yes."

Elliot's had the wind knocked out of him several times, but as he sits in the crowded bar trying to remember how to breathe, he realizes that the feeling has never before been caused by words.

- - -

TBC


	2. Two

**A/N**: Again, this has been posted before, but it might be new to some of you. Hope you enjoy!

- - -

"Benson," Olivia says groggily, picking up her cell phone after only two rings. He immediately feels guilty for calling her at three in the morning, but he can't put this off until tomorrow, not when there's so much at stake.

"Hey, it's me," he says, rubbing his hand over his face as he sits in his jeep, parked down the block from her building. "I'm sorry for calling so late, I just…"

"Is everything okay?" she asks, and he hears the sheets on her bed moving. He wonders what color they are, if they're cotton or satin. He wonders if Ethan's in bed with her, waking from a deep sleep when she moves. He wonders if it was his conversation with Ethan, or some weird alignment of the planets that has him wondering these things about his partner. "Elliot?" she asks when he doesn't answer.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Is Ethan there right now?" Elliot asks, not wanting to know the answer.

"No, he's leaving early for a business trip. He went home after we left the bar so he could finish packing," she tells him, sounding puzzled. "Did you have a reason for calling or did you just want to check up on Ethan's whereabouts?"

"I'm parked down the block. Can I come up? We need to talk about something." He can hear the hesitation in the way she breathes, and he closes his eyes and silently begs. Just say yes, Olivia.

"Yeah," she says finally. Neither of them speaks for a moment and she sighs, remembering how tired she is. "Elliot…" she starts, and then decides that, judging by Elliot's behavior, putting off this conversation until morning probably isn't going to be a good idea. "Never mind. Just come up. Use your key."

Five minutes later, he lets himself into her apartment using the key she gave him for emergencies three years into their partnership. "Liv?" he calls, wanting to warn her that he's inside before the sound of his footsteps startles her.

"In the kitchen," she calls quietly.

He walks into the room and finds her at the table, three Advil laying next to her empty coffee mug as she waits for her caffeine to finish brewing. There's something about the fact that she's wearing an oversized T-shirt emblazoned with "Harvard" across the chest that just bugs him. It's harder to ignore Ethan's presence in her life when she wears his clothes.

"Hang over already?" he asks, forcing a smile and a joke to try and sound normal. "I figured you'd still be drunk."

"I was kidding about not being able to walk in the bar," she says, smirking. "I just have a headache."

"How long is Ethan gone for?" Elliot asks.

"Just until Sunday. He has to meet with some lawyers from his firm's office in D.C." She gets up from the table when the coffee finishes. Silently, she pours it into two mugs and sets one in front of him. She puts all three pills into her mouth and swallows them with a sip of coffee, sighing as she drops back into her chair. "Okay, what's going on?" she asks finally, knowing that she'll be waiting a while if she doesn't start the conversation.

"Nothing," he says, fighting an embarrassed smile when she rolls her eyes at him. He feels the words leaving his mouth before he can stop himself, so he finishes asking the question and then braces himself for the fallout. "Are you in love with him?"

Olivia sets down her coffee and raises an eyebrow at him, unsure of where this conversation is going. "Okay, why don't you stop being cryptic and just tell me why the hell you're here at three in the morning? I'm tired and I have a headache and I'm really not in the mood to give you answers that are none of your business."

He wants to just apologize and leave, but he needs to know. "Liv… Just answer the question. Please."

She wishes she had the energy or the will to tell him to drop it, but she's exhausted and there's something in the way he said the word "please" that breaks her willpower and she finds herself answering him instead. "I think so. To tell you the truth, I'm not entirely sure that I know how it feels to be in love with someone. But he…" she shrugs, taking a sip of her coffee. "Yes. I think I am in love with him."

He nods, looking down at the table in silence. Suddenly he stands up, grabbing his jacket off the back of the chair. "I gotta go. I'm sorry I-"

"God, Elliot, what is your problem?" she asks, giving in to her frustration. "You show up here at 3am wanting to 'talk' and then you ask me one question and take off! Would you please just tell me what the fuck is going on?"

He has stopped in his tracks, his back turned on her. He bows his head, dropping his chin to his chest and sighing and groaning all at once. "Olivia…" he trails off, unsure of what to say to her.

"No. You don't get to avoid answering my questions. This obviously has something to do with me and Ethan and I think I have a right to know what's going on with you."

"It's just something I realized tonight. At the bar," he says, turning to face her. "Fuck. I don't even know where to begin."

"Elliot, it's 3am. Stop with the angst and just tell me."

"I, uh, think I fucked up my chance," he says, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. "I realized that I have feelings for someone and I think it's too late to do anything about it."

Her eyes widen and she stands there for a moment, staring at him as she realizes what he means. "Elliot, I…" she trails off, unsure of how to respond. She leans back against the kitchen counter, looking at the floor instead of at him. When she looks up at him, he realizes that she's trying as hard as she can not to cry and he immediately feels guilty. "Don't do this to me. Please. I feel the same way, but there is no way we would ever work. We'd just end up hurting each other and ruining the one constant I have left in my life. I can't risk losing you, and we won't work out, Elliot. And I can't… I'm finally happy. With Ethan. I can't lose that."

He wants to say something, but he can't form the words, so he merely nods. He swallows hard, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he leans against the counter opposite her. Finally, he asks, "Are you really happy with him?"

"Yeah. I am," she answers with a small shrug. "Things with him are just easy. I can come home from work and forget about it and let myself get lost in something else. There aren't nine years of complications and mistakes to make our relationship harder than it should be. He's the first guy I've ever dated who didn't take off when I told him about my father, and I am just so sick and tired of being alone. God, Elliot, you can't even imagine what it's like. You've always had someone. Your family, then Kathy, and even now with the divorce, you've still got your kids. All I ever had was my mother, and then you and… I can't do this with you. And I need more than what I have right now."

He can't believe how honest she is being with him and he simply watches her, unsure of what has allowed them to be so open with each other tonight. She suddenly notices the way he is looking at her and she shakes her head, her face reddening slightly as she reaches up, wiping away the moisture with her thumb. "It's late and I can't do this right now, Elliot."

"Don't worry about it, Liv. It's done. I just needed to know," he says, trying to sound both confident and supportive, which is more difficult than he thinks it should be. "Now I do."

"El, are we-"

"We're fine," he says, nodding. "I understand what you're saying and I just want you to be happy. If Ethan is the right guy for you, then go for it. I'm right behind you no matter what." They both stare at each other for a moment, both of them feeling as though they still have so much left to say, but unsure of how to even begin. "I'm going to get going and let you get back to bed. I'm sorry, Liv. I shouldn't have come over. I'll see you at work on Monday."

"Elliot-"

"Liv, I really just need to go home," he says, shaking his head slightly. "We're fine, okay? I just need to go home and you should go get some sleep."

She nods, understanding that he needs to be alone. "I'll see you Monday," she says, realizing how awkward these parting words sound considering everything they have said to each other in the past thirty minutes. But before she can think of anything else to say, her front door is already shut and locked behind him and he's on his way to his car.

_Wait_, she thinks, already starting to regret her words._ God, Elliot. What if we…_

- - -

This is the last place he wants to be on his Sunday night, but he knows Olivia is out for a long-planned girls' night with Casey and that Ethan got back from D.C. earlier that afternoon. He needs to talk to him without Olivia around, and going to his apartment while she's out with Casey feels like the safest option.

He takes a deep breath before knocking on the door and then stands there awkwardly waiting for an answer. He hears footsteps inside the apartment and there is a pause before the door opens as Ethan looks through the peephole.

"Elliot? What are you-"

"I need to talk to you," he says, not waiting for Ethan to finish his question. "I'm sorry to show up unannounced like this, but I know Liv's not here and I need her to not know that I was here."

"Come on in," Ethan tells him, looking more than a little confused. "I, uh…I take it this is about what I told you on Friday, right?"

Elliot nods. "Olivia and I talked about some things this weekend and I… You should ask her. I want her to be happy, so I think you should ask her."

"Not to be rude or anything, but I didn't really ask for your permission, Elliot. Just a promise that you weren't going to try to talk her out of it when I ask her."

"I know you didn't," Elliot says, sighing. "And there's no reason why you'd need my permission, I know, I just wanted to tell you that you should do it. She's…" he trails off, unsure of how to explain how he feels about Olivia without screwing up both relationships. "She's really important to me and I want her to be happy. She's had enough shit happen in her life and she doesn't need anything else to get in the way of her happiness. I just wanted you to know that if you ever hurt her, if you ever cheat on her... I swear to God, if you even forget your anniversary, I'll make your life a living hell."

"Elliot-"

"Just say you won't and then I can leave and we can pretend we never had this conversation," Elliot says, wanting nothing more than to get out of there.

"Yeah, okay, I promise," Ethan says, nodding once, yet still looking a little confused as to what is going on.

Elliot nods in response, immediately leaving without saying another word. As he's walking back to his jeep from Ethan's apartment building, he wonders if the pain he feels after telling Ethan to propose is because it's like hitting something that has already been bruised, or if it's because it really does hurt more than when Kathy left him.

- - -

TBC


	3. Three

**A/N**: Last chapter. Hope you enjoyed!

- - -

They've spent a long, tiring day chasing a suspect all over Manhattan, only to end up passing off the case to Narcotics when they'd already done most of the work. As soon as they got back to the precinct, Olivia had headed up to the locker room to get changed for her date with Ethan, leaving Elliot to finish up some last minute paperwork that could probably wait until Monday.

Elliot knows that tonight's the night. After everything he's already dealt with today, it's the last thing he wants to worry about, but he can't seem to stop thinking about it.

Cragen nods in his direction when he comes back inside the squad room, then looks at his watch. "It's almost six. Go home."

Elliot nods once, not responding verbally as he gets up, grabs his coat, waves to his captain, and heads for his car. He's halfway there when he realizes that his keys and his cell phone are still in his locker, so he turns around and jogs back inside, taking the elevator up to the squad room.

"You forget something?" Munch asks when he walks in, putting his coat on as he prepares to leave for the evening.

"Yeah. Keys."

"Fin and I are going to O'Malley's for a drink. I think Casey's coming. Want to join us?"

"No thanks," Elliot responds. "I'll see you Monday." He knows that if he starts drinking tonight, he's not going to be able to stop after a reasonable amount and he'll either end up either spilling his guts to his co-workers about Olivia, or calling her at 3am when he can barely string two words together and saying something he'll regret in the morning.

He walks into the locker room just as Olivia finishes pulling a black tank top over her head and he has to stop for a moment to remember how to breathe. She's never been shy about changing in the locker room the detectives share and, on more than one occasion, he's walked in on her sans T-shirt. But there's a difference between the sports bras she works out in and the black satin and lace he just caught a glimpse of. There's a huge difference between how he felt about her before their middle of the night conversation last week and how he feels about her right now.

"Sorry," he mumbles, heading over to his locker and quickly opening it. She doesn't respond, obviously indifferent, and finishes taking the extra set of clothes she keeps in her locker out and putting them into her bag. When her locker door slams shut, he half expects her to leave, but instead she stands there for a moment in complete silence. He knows what's coming even before he hears her voice.

"Elliot?" she says softly, but he can tell by the tone in her voice that she's about to start a conversation he doesn't want any part of. Not when he's this close to losing control of his emotions.

"Yeah?" he says, closing his locker door and pressing his hand against it as he tries to fight the urge to face her.

"Are we… I just… Fuck, Elliot. I don't even know how to-"

"We're fine, Liv," he says, turning around, but avoiding her gaze. "Don't worry about it."

She rolls her eyes. He's always been bad at lying, but tonight she doesn't have the energy to address that particular character flaw. She walks closer to him, standing right in front of him and forcing him to look her in the eye. "Elliot-"

"You love him, Olivia. I get that. He's going to make you happy. You're going to end up married to him and you'll have kids and a family and you'll be happy. So don't-"

But before he can even finish his sentence, her lips are on his, soft and gentle, yet demanding at the same time. He wants to push her away; wants to say that this is a bad idea, not because any of the cops in the precinct could walk in at any moment, not because of Ethan, but because now that he knows what it feels like to have her tongue touch his, he's not going to be able to go back to just being friends.

"Olivia," he finally says, gently pushing her back. She looks shocked, as if she can't believe she's kissed him, either. "We can't do this. I can't kiss you like that and then go home and pretend that nothing happened while you go on a date with Ethan. You can't have both of us and you already made that choice. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Elliot-"

"Liv, I need to leave. Now." He grabs his keys and cell phone off the bench and hurries out the door. He passes Ethan on his way out and he can't help but clench his fists a little when Ethan smiles and waves.

Just because he wants Olivia to be happy doesn't mean that he's thrilled that Ethan's the one who will do it.

- - -

Every half-hour or so, Elliot looks at the clock and wonders, _has he asked yet? Did she say yes? Is she going to come into work on Monday with a ring on her left hand and a huge smile on her face?_

He doesn't want to think about it anymore. Doesn't even want to consider the fact that Ethan can make her happier than he ever could. Instead, he nurses the same beer he's been drinking for the past two hours and turns up the volume on his TV, listening to the announcer talk about Jeter and A-Rod.

When he hears a knock at the door at 8:45, he assumes it's his little brother Patrick, stopping by with a six-pack and a pizza, ready to feed him some line about "keeping him company." In reality, his wife had probably just unplugged the TV because he refused to help with the dishes or putting the kids to bed. But when he looks through the peep hole, it's not his brother he sees, but Olivia, standing there looking completely lost and freezing in jeans and a tank top and no coat.

He opens the door, unprepared for the look of unfettered anger on her face. "Olivia, what-"

"Do you even actually have feelings for me or were you just fucking with my head the other night?" she asks, so pissed off she can barely even look at him. "I can't even… Were you just trying to keep me from being happy with him?"

"No. No. I meant what I said," he assures her, trying to catch sight of her left hand, but it's hidden deep in her jeans pocket. He stays silent, holding the door open and hoping she'll come inside. When she continues to stand there, still seething with anger, he sighs. "Olivia. Come inside. Where's your coat?"

"It's May," she says simply, glaring at him. He wants to smile, but he fights the urge, knowing it will piss her off more.

"It's still freezing. And my neighbors probably don't want to hear us fighting," he tells her, waiting for her to come inside before he closes the door behind them.

"Could you please explain to me why you kissed me in the locker room?" Olivia asks, looking everywhere but at him. "What-"

"I'm pretty sure it was the other way around, Olivia," he says, and she turns slightly red, looking down at the carpet. "Don't try to blame this on me," he continues, now a little bit angry himself. "I wasn't trying to mess with your head. I want you to be happy and if you're happy with Ethan then I guess I'll just have to deal with it. But don't try to make whatever this is my fault. I told you that I had feelings for you because I thought you had to the right to know, not because I wanted to screw things up between you and Ethan." He waits, hoping she will say something. When she doesn't respond and he squeezes his eyes shut, rubbing his hand over his face in frustration. "What happened?"

She sits down on his couch, looking down at her lap. He still can't catch sight of her left hand, but this time she catches him looking. She holds it up, showing off her bare ring finger. "I said no, Elliot."

"Olivia-"

"I can't believe you knew and didn't tell me! And I certainly cannot believe that you decided to go around my back and give him permission! It is not any of your business-"

"He's the one who asked me, Olivia. And I didn't 'give him permission' to ask you! You're not my property and I have a feeling that if I ever suggested that you were, you'd make sure I lost the ability to say anything again. He told me that he was going to propose and that he was worried I'd try to talk you out of it. That's all I told him: that I wouldn't try to talk you out of it."

"Is that why you came to my apartment that night? Because he told you he was going to propose?"

"I was going to tell you how I felt anyway," Elliot says, unsure if that's really true or not. "I just didn't know when. And when Ethan told me that he was going to propose, I knew I didn't have a lot of time. Everything I said was true, though, Olivia. Everything."

Neither of them says anything for a moment, and finally Elliot sits down on the couch next to her, both of them looking at the same stain on the couch cushion between them: grape juice, he thinks, spilled from Dickie's sippie-cup when he was a toddler.

"Why did you say no?"

"Because I don't love him," she says, looking up at him finally, looking him right in the eye. "What you said was true. We would have gotten married and he probably would have gotten me pregnant. We could have bought a house in Queens and I could have transferred to another unit, or to another borough, so that I'd have more time, and maybe I would have been happy with that life. But there would always be something missing. The truth is that I don't even know if I want all of that. I don't…" she shrugs, running her hand through her hair, pushing a few locks out of her face. "When I was a kid, I never really had a chance to worry about whether or not I'd have the husband and the 2.5 kids and the house with a big yard for them to play in. I grew up too fast for that, and so I've never known if that's what I wanted. What I do know is that I don't love him, not the way I love you."

He looks like he's about to interrupt, but she shoots him a look and he remains silent. She has to get this out without interruptions before she loses her nerve. "Every time I try to think about doing those things with Ethan, I start thinking about how even though it might be considered less fulfilling to other people, I'd rather be sitting in your living room, watching the Yankee game. Or I think about how whenever you and I go out after work, you don't even have to ask to know what I want to drink or that I want extra relish on my hotdog. There are a lot of things about our relationship that are so fucked up and complicated that it would send normal people running in the opposite direction. But there's something so simple and so easy about being with you, about having you in my life, that it almost makes up for the fact that I'm scared out of my fucking mind right now."

He smiles softly, looking up at her. "I thought you said we'd just end up hurting each other."

"I was stupid, Elliot," she says, leaning in to press her forehead against his. They do not touch, save for this one point of contact, and they both close their eyes and sit there in silence for a moment.

"I don't know if I can promise you all of those things that Ethan-"

"Don't. Elliot. I wouldn't be here if that's what I wanted from you," she says, her thumb drawing circles against the stubble on his cheek. "I would rather spend the rest of my hlife sitting next to you in this living room than have everything Ethan could have given me. We'll deal with that later." She swallows hard, her lips pressing against his again, just like at the station. This time, his lips part slightly and her tongue slips inside as he slowly lowers her onto her back, her head resting against the arm of the couch.

The kiss breaks for only a moment and their eyes meet, the message clear for both of them. _This is all I'll ever need._

- - -

The End.


End file.
